News / western slopes
Avon Wildlife Trust backs campaign to save south Bristol green space
The fight to save a green space in south Bristol has taken a new turn.
Avon Wildlife Trust has announced that it stands with campaigners who do not want to see houses built on the Western Slopes.
The slopes, an area of woodland and meadows between Knowle West, Headley Park and Bedminster Down, have been earmarked for over 500 homes.
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But Avon Wildlife Trust says that the Western Slopes are a “vital wildlife corridor” and should not be built on.
The Trust said in a statement: “This area, located on the slopes between Novers Hill and Hartcliffe Way, is a particularly important habitat for a wide variety of birds, mammals and rare wildflowers.
“We recognise that there is considerable concern from local residents that it may be vulnerable to development, and we echo their calls for it to be protected.”
Avon Wildlife Trust is backing the campaign for the Western Slopes in south Bristol to be protected from development. Photo by Charlie Watts
Friends of the Western Slopes, which has 800 members, has also been set up to protect the green space from development.
A spokesperson for the group said: “We appreciate the support of Avon Wildlife Trust and are pleased that they stand beside us in protecting this important site.
“The Western Slopes are integral to the wildlife network of south west Bristol and we are grateful that the importance of them is finally being recognised.”
Members of the Friends of the Western Slopes group are fighting to save the green space. Photo by Charlie Watts
Developer Lovell Homes has announced plans to build 157 properties on the privately owned part of the slopes, but faced a heavy backlash from local residents in a recent consultation.
An ecological survey of the site has shown that the slopes are home to wildlife including badgers and rare horseshoe bats.
But Lovell has stressed development of the land would see bat corridors retained and badgers moved to another part of the slopes.
Developer Lovell has announced plans to build 157 homes on a privately owned part of the Western Slopes. Photo by Lovell
Bristol City Council’s housing company Goram Homes has also earmarked the council-owned part of the slopes, where horses graze, for an additional 360 properties.
Despite this, Avon Wildlife Trust claims the council has assured them that there are no plans for development on its section of the slopes. But the land is being targeted by Goram and allocated for housing in the council’s Local Plan.
A spokesperson for Friends of the Western Slopes added: “We hope to work alongside Avon Wildlife Trust to get the slopes removed from the Local Plan, that they never should have been in, and designate them as a nature reserve for the whole of south Bristol, that they always should have been.”
Charlie Watts is reporting on Knowle West as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a pilot project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media
Main photo by Charlie Watts
Read more: Residents hit out at plans for 157 homes on south Bristol fields
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